Mail-delivery chute.



J. & H. PAGE.

MAIL DELIVERY GHUTE.

APPLIoATIoN FILED weze, 190e.

Patented Feb. l,

naar.

JOHN PAGE AND HARRY PAGE, OF CLEVELAND, OHI.

MAIL-DELIVERY CHUTE.

Specicatioii of Letters Patent.

- Patented heb.. il, illlt Application filed August 28, 1908. Serial Nd. 450,601.

'declare'the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art t'o which it appertains to make and use the same.

The objects ofthe invention are to provide means for 'distributing mail throughout an oce or other building in which many people are congregated, and the invention specifically comprises means for delivering themail from an upper Hoorv to the respective lower doors, whereby the time and labor of the inail carrier or distributer'l ordinarily emloyed in visiting personally each separate oor and oce thereon are materially economized, land the mail is automatically delivv ered at the location desired.

'lhe invention consists in a 'mail chute, into which the mail is deposited at a high elevation, and in separately adjustable means for directing4 the mail to the boxes of individual occupants of the building onthe various doors below. To accomplish these objects a mail chute 1s constructed common to all the floors'of a building, 'and an o eningy for the insertion ofthe mail is provi ed upon the upper floor, so that by one visit to the up er floor, or point of ighest elevation of t e chute, all oilices below this opening can be sup lied with mail without personallyvisiting t em. Upon each floor is provided a mail box, and within the mail chute are provided pivoted arms, which serve to direct the mail in turn to the exact mail boxes into'which it is destined to fall, and all these directing arms are operated from a common station at the upper end of the chute.

The invention further comprises the combination and arrangement of the various parts and construction of details, as hereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the claims.

lln the accompanying drawings Figure 1 isl a vertical longitudinal section from front t0 rear of the improved form of mail chute,

showing in the upper portion of the figure the liners for operating the delivery arms gr plates, and in the lower portion of the tig ure, one of the arms and the manner of operating it, and showing it in position for delivering the mail, and closed to mail dey livery in dotted lines. lFig. Q, is a vertical longitudinal section taken from one side of the chute to the other, showing o erating levers and signal lights, and the side passages in which the electric wires and operating wires or chains for the delivery arms are inclosed. Fig. 3, is a ver-tical central section through a transverse bar of the chute, showing a push button and'contact devices arranged to close an incandescent lighting ciI- cuit at the moment of complete opening of one of the mail delivery arms, in this inan-V ner enabling the operator to act with certainty, and to have visible assurance that the desired delivery arm has been opened, and that all others remain closed.

ln the views, l--is the mail chute, secured vertically to a wall 2, and provided preferably with a glass front 3, so that the mail falling therethrough is visible, and any jam# ming in the chute of letters, or circulars, can. be ascertained at once.

The mail introduced into the chute at a common opening at the top thereof is discharged into a suitable box 4, one of which can be located on each loor of a building, and may project through the wall as shown in Fig. 1-directly into a private oftice or reception room. Hence every oice .or suite of oii'ices in the vertical range of the chute can be supplied therefrom with ease. To permit this to be done readily each box 4 is supplied with a delivery arm 5, which is pivoted at 6, in an opening 7 inthe rear wall of the chute. rllhis arm is dished or curved to direct the mail from the chute, into the mail box, and when opened 1s adapted to lie diagonall across the chute so asto p catch everything eposited therein.

The upper edge 8, of the arm 5, enters a recess 9, in the transverse bar 10, or wall of the chute, so as not to interfere with the fall 'of the mail. Slight projecting lips such as shown at 11, also assist in preventing the mail from catching upon the lower edge 13, of the delivery opening.

lf the chute is formed of Joined sheet metal sections the lips 11, can be formed at the lower edges of the superimposed sections, and be integral therewith.

A spring 12, normally serves to keep each delivery arm closed asy shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and when closed the rounded back serves to deflect and prevent letters from catching on the lower edge 1B, of the delivery opening, where the delivery arm is hinged. These delivery arms are raised to place them across the chute, so as to catch the mail, by rmeans of flexible connections such as ine cords, wires, or chains, 14, 14, which traverse the side passage 15, adapted to receive them. These cords are operated to raise the arms by meansof suitable levers, 16, 16, arranged upon a suitable late 17, situated on the upper floor of. the building, and from whence mail can be delivered to every mail box on the floors below.

Each lever is secured when thrown to open the delivery arm, by any convenient device, such as a pawl 18, and ratchet are 19, and remains down untilthe arm which it controls has delivered the mail to its respective box. The `flexible connections 14 can be guided into suitable directions by means of openings P in a block of wood P. To make it certain that the mail has been delivered to the right box, each lever can bear a number, and each delivery arm when opened can be `made to close an electric circuit to. a corresponding lamp as shown at 20, 20 Figs. 1, and 2. This is readily accomplished by providing a vpush button 21, and contacts 22, 23, adapted to be closed bythe edge of the delivery arm when fully open as shown in Fig. 3. One lamp alone connected with all the delivery arms would serve to indicate that each one had been opened, and could be used in a simpler form of apparatus.

The electric wires 24, connecting the switches and lamps are preferably carried upa side passage 25, `specially prepared to receive them. v

26 represents a'battery or other source of electricity.

l Having described the invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The combination with a vertically arranged chute provided at intervals with mail delivery openings, of a mail receiving box* R of each arm projects into the chute and l communicating with each opening, a curved delivery arm pivoted in the lower edge of each opening, and adapted to 4lie diagonally across said chute, and to alternately close said delivery opening, an operating station or box, at the point of highest elevation orz said chute, common to all said delivery arms an operating lever therein for each of sai delivery arms, flexible connections between said levers and said delivery arms, a closing spring for each arm, and a signal device adapted to be operated by each one of said arms when in the open position, and in position to deliver mail.

2. The combination with a mail chute provided with mail delivery openings at intervals, of a mail receivin box communicatin with 'each opening, a delivery arm pivote in the lower edge of said opening, and adapted to be moved vertically to close one of said openings and to be alternately moved to lie diagonally across said chute to deliver mail falling therethrough into onevof said openings, recesses in the wall of said chute adapted to .receive the inner ends of said arms, means for automatically moving said arms to close said delivery openings in said chute, and means operated from aboveto incline said arms to adapt them. to deliver mail through said delivery openings, the backs of said delivery arms being curved to project into said chute, and serving as detlectors to prevent the mail from engaging the lower edge of said delivery openings.

In testimony whereof we hereunto set our hands this 21st day of August 1908.

JOHN PAGE. HARRY PAGE.

` In presence of- WM. M. MONROE, Y C. H. OLDS. 

